a kugel

There was quite a compelling panel* mediated by ad vet George Parker on media versus agency at the psfk trend conference. Among the findings:

Media Has Changed, Ad Content Hasn’t. Noting the dismal quality-level of this year’s Super Bowl ads as proof that though there’s more money flowing and an exploding range of media options available to marketers, the message is having trouble evolving.

CGM is NOT a Strategy. Parker noted the rough time CGM-centric sites like YouTube and MySpace are having trouble generating ad revenue and the low quality of user-generated ads like the recent Dove campaign as proof that CGM is not a strategy in itself. Panelist Scott Witt equated the phenomenon to “skinny jeans,” i.e. a forgettable fad. Ultimately, Engadget’s Peter Rojas noted that one place where CGM is proving an asset is not in ad creation, but consumer feedback, noting consumers’ desire to comment on advertising via blogs, messageboards etc.

Coming Soon: The Niche Media/Agency? Scott Witt forecasted that within the next “500 days,” we’re likely to see at least a half dozen agencies which will create dedicated media-driven profit centers, noting all of the media BBH created for Axe. Parker noted when working on a campaign for a skateboard co., he ultimately recommended that niche media, such as skatemag Concrete, do the ads themselves.

Media & Ad Relevancy. Media must keep its advertising relevant to consumers now more than ever to retain a quality/focused readership. Parker cited MySpace’s recent saturation of Fox advertising and Wired’s unfocused advertising as bad practices.

Final Thought: Death to the Dinosaur? Ultimately, the hypertargeted media era we’ve entered paves the way for a wealth of niche media and agencies. Me, I think we’ll continue to see more segmentation of everything. Indeed, are these exciting times.

*Panel: Media As Creative Agency – George Parker
Does the modern media title threaten the creative agency by offering innovative solutions that the agency can’t conceive?
Panel: Peter Rojas (Engadget), Scott Witt (Droga5/Denuo), Sascha Lewis (Flavorpill), John Lee (Theme)
Sponsor: Federated Media; crap picture thanks to my camera phone.